Zemach Shabad

Zemach Shabad (צמח שאבאד, Cemach Szabad, Цемах Шабад, Tsemakh Shabad; 5 February 1864, Vilnius, Russian Empire (now Vilnius, Lithuania) &mdash; 20 January 1935, Vilnius) was a Jewish medical doctor and social and political activist. He was a member of the Senate (parliament) of the Second Polish Republic (1928) and a co-founder and vice-president of the YIVO (Institute for Jewish Research). In 1932, Shabad toured to Palestine with Dr. Abel Lapin from Kaunas. During his trip, Shabad hosted by the Health Committee of the Knesset and the Jerusalem Medical Association.

He was one of the originators of the volkist movement, which eventually turned into the Folkspartei (Jewish People's Party).

In the late 1930s a monument on the outskirts of Vilnius was erected in Shabad's honor; it was destroyed during WWII. In 2007 he was honoured with another monument in Vilnius, reflecting the fact that he was the prototype of "Doctor Aybolit", a good doctor from a children's poem by Korney Chukovsky.

Family

 * Regina, Mrs. Max Weinreich, daughter
 * Jacob Shabad, son
 * Josif Shabad, son
 * Uriel Weinreich, grandson, an American linguist
 * Gabriel Weinreich, grandson, expert in musical acoustics